"Bawal Lumabas (The Classroom Song)" or simply "Bawal Lumabas" (transl. You can't go out) is a single by Filipina actress and recording artist Kim Chiu. The chorus of the song came from her statement during the livestream event "Laban Kapamilya" as she tried to compare ABS-CBN's shutdown to classroom rules. Her comparison became confusing and incoherent instead.[1]
The song was released on May 25, 2020, under the StarPop label.
Background and release
Due to the expiration of the congressional franchise of ABS-CBN on May 4, 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and Solicitor GeneralJose Calida issued a cease-and-desist order on the next day, demanding the network to immediately cease all of its free-to-air broadcast operations.[2] With that, several Kapamilya actors and actresses expressed their dismay regarding the shutdown of the network through online livestreaming. One of those livestreams was the "Laban, Kapamilya!" event on May 8 through Facebook Live sessions where Kim Chiu accidentally made a confusing comparison of the law and the ABS-CBN shutdown to classroom dynamics.[3]
Sa classroom may batas, bawal lumabas, Pero ‘pag sinabi, ‘pag nag-comply ka na bawal na lumabas pero may ginawa ka sa pinagbabawal nila, inayos mo ‘yong law ng classroom niyo at sinubmit mo ulit ay pwede na pala ikaw lumabas.
"In a classroom, there are rules, like you cannot go out. But when it's said, when you complied that you cannot go out, but you did something they forbid, you fixed your classroom's rules and re-submitted them, then you can finally go out '"
The next day, Chiu posted in her Instagram account that even she herself did not understand her "classroom" statement. Nonetheless, her statement snowballed into a massive deal. Different kinds of internet memes were born, including the one with a beat created by Squammy Beats in which Chiu's statement was auto-tuned.[5] The version made by Squammy has been used heavily in several TikTok videos.[6]
For several days, Chiu stayed away from social media as she became a laughingstock online. While friends checked up on Chiu at the height of the meme's spread, it was one stranger's open letter on Facebook that made a mark on the actress. The open letter came from Adrian Crisanto, a marketing professional. Crisanto suggested Chiu to record the "remix" of her video statement that had gone viral, spawning its own classical and rock covers, as well as a TikTok dance challenge.[5] Eventually, Chiu, Crisanto, and original beat creator Squammy Beats collaborated for the "remix" became a full track.
The full version of "Bawal Lumabas" premiered in Chiu's YouTube account on May 18, 2020. After a week, the song was released to Apple Music and Spotify for digital download and online streaming.
"Mr. Speaker, my distinguished colleagues, hindi po nagcomply sa batas ang ABS-CBN, kaya hindi po pwede sila lumabas at magpalabas." (English translation: "Mr. Speaker, my distinguished colleagues, ABS-CBN did not comply with the laws and standards, so they can't go out and cannot go out.")
A television miniseries, Bawal Lumabas: The Series (International title: Her Rules, Her No’s), was released online via iWantTFC from December 14–19, 2020, with television broadcast on Kapamilya Channel and A2Z from June 19 to July 24, 2021 as part of the former's first anniversary, replacing Aja! Aja! Tayo sa Jeju and was replaced by Hoy, Love You!.[11]
